Seongkyo Railway Station.

Liu Changyou and his son Liu Siqian, together with the bustling flow of people, walked out of the gate of the railway station, looked at the square outside the railway station, rows of shops were opened, and several military police officers stood at the intersection in good spirits, a little surprised.

"Father, this Shengjing Imperial City is really different, it's so big! Just a quarter of an hour ago, I remember that the train entered the Shengjing City, and it took so long for the train to run so fast before it arrived at the railway station in the city, which means that the train in this Shengjing area has to run for half an hour. Alas, I haven't been to Shengjing for a few years, and it seems that the urban area of this imperial city has expanded a lot. Liu Siqian looked at the wide square outside the railway station and sighed: "I originally thought that Wuchang City was already one of the largest cities in the empire, full of flowers, but I didn't expect this holy capital to be bigger and more prosperous. It's much more lively than the one I remembered a few years ago. Great, I will definitely earn more money in Wuchang City, this is my Liu Siqian's life stage, and I have already smelled the familiar smell of the holy coin. ”

"That's nature! This is the imperial city of the empire, the capital of the Celestial Empire with a population of 500 million, and only here can there be such a prosperous scene! Liu Changyou automatically filtered through the second half of his son's sentence and sighed: "Unexpectedly, I will return to Shengjing again!" Your Majesty not only did not forget me, but also promoted me to an official position. You kid, you love to be naughty and mischievous in Wuchang, don't act recklessly in the holy capital at the foot of the world. Alas, it's all your mother's fault for getting used to you, you don't have a proper shape all day long, you have to study more like your two brothers, and then participate in the imperial examination to become an official of the empire, how good is this? It's just that you kid, what kind of industry and commerce are you going to engage in, look at it now, you are idle all day long, and you are doing chickens and dogs in Wuchang City, but it is useless. ”

"Oh, Father, you're really old-fashioned in your thinking. What time is it now, and the government notice doesn't call on everyone to go out of the countryside and come to the city to help work and make some quick money. You, the dignified governor of Hubei and the incoming cabinet member, are still the same old ideas, do you just think that studying and going to school and then taking the imperial examination to become an official is the only right way? If Your Majesty knows, I'm afraid that I will regret using you, a feudal old stubborn. Liu Siqian debated, there were really some ghosts, and he didn't even make Liu Changyou speak, but because Liu Siqian's voice was too loud, the pedestrians in the square outside the station looked over, and Liu Siqian hurriedly closed his mouth.

Liu Changyou glared at his son fiercely, stopped talking, and led his son to hurriedly walk a few steps forward, and after avoiding the attention of the crowd, he said to his son helplessly: "Under the public square, can the little rabbit cub not talk nonsense loudly, almost revealing his identity to attract attention." Moreover, no big or small, is there a son like you who speaks of his father? It's all your mother's habit for you! If you don't study before you are twenty years old, and you don't think about doing business all day long, is it better to do that business than to study? Even if the imperial court now encourages the development of industry and commerce, it is still important to study. ”

Liu Siqian said with a smile: "Father, although the second brother is also a student, he is studying the science of machine manufacturing, and it is just a miscellaneous study in the previous dynasty. Although I didn't go to school, I have read a lot of books on business since I was a child, and now it's time to put down the books and show my strength.

Besides, father, don't think that I am busy playing and don't care about national affairs, this time Your Majesty summoned you to form a cabinet member, according to my son's guess, the fundamental purpose of Your Majesty and the imperial court is nothing more than to further promote the reform of the empire and deepen its development.

Take this industry and commerce, for example, according to my understanding, industry and commerce complement each other, with industry, that is, the establishment of factories, only goods can be produced for sale, and with commerce, that is, foreign firms and foot traders, these goods can be sold and circulated, and turned into money, and then buy raw materials or hire labor, and turn them into more commodities and wealth.

But that's all, that's the initial state. Since the imperial court wants to increase the cabinet's intervention in the state, it wants to guide the in-depth development of all walks of life through the role of the government - don't be so surprised, father - this word is still what I read from the newspaper.

Let's talk about business and industry. Although the territory of the empire is getting bigger and bigger, and the population is getting bigger and bigger, but the core interests are still enjoyed by us Han people, and the demand for commodities is because of the overseas colonies and the empire has become stronger, although it is significantly getting bigger and bigger, the most important thing is the production of commodities, and the production of commodities has not expanded rapidly. This may be what His Majesty wants you, the newly appointed Cabinet members, to do. ”

Liu Changyou was a little surprised, his third-ranked son was really a freak, although he was only 19 years old, he was really as he said, familiar with all kinds of miscellaneous books, the most of which were industrial and commercial circulation books, and even didn't even go to school, and secretly opened a so-called industry-consignment store-out. What he said today really touched Liu Changyou, and he didn't know that this time His Majesty replaced Zeng Guanlan, the prime minister of the cabinet, and designated Li Hongzhang, the governor of Jiangsu, who had the most thorough reform and the most daring governance in the country, as the head of the cabinet members, and led them, the old subordinates of the Taiping Holy Kingdom, to form a new cabinet, the purpose of which was naturally to further promote the development of the empire.

Isn't this exactly what his son said, to increase the cabinet's control and intervention in the affairs of the empire, and to guide all walks of life, especially industry and commerce, to develop more.

Seeing that what his son said was reasonable, Liu Changyou also forgot to be angry, nodded and encouraged him to continue: "Little rabbit, you really have a bit of a score." Then you can tell me, this industry and commerce have developed so much now, how do you need to promote it? ”

Liu Siqian said without thinking: "It's very simple. Industry and commerce, industry and commerce, either from industry or from commerce, in layman's terms, is to develop from the two perspectives of production and market. As I said earlier, now that the empire has expanded its territory, its population is large, and its international status has increased significantly, I heard that even the markets of India and the Americas have been opened, so the market is not the focus, but the production of goods.

My Chinese Empire has been a big agricultural country since ancient times, it is the father of you such officials, who cultivated a group of people who are accustomed to sunrise and sunset and rest with their heads facing the loess and their backs to the sky, just when the Taiping Holy Kingdom and the empire were established, they allocated fields to many farmers, coupled with the good policies of the empire and the promotion and use of holy fertilizer, the villagers guarded a few acres of land, although they were still a little poor, but they could fill their stomachs, and no one was willing to leave their hometowns and leave a few acres of fields to go out to work, so that it would cause it to be like the books said, Urban industries lack labor, which in turn affects the production of goods.

Therefore, from this point of view, one of the main reform tasks of my father's cabinet should include this one, whether it is to force out the surplus labor force in the countryside who are clinging to a few acres of land, or to coax them out, to go to the city to work in the factory, and promote the great development of industry! ”